BUFFALO, N.Y. – Senior
Eugene German (Gary, Ind./21st Century Charter) scored 26 points and senior
Lacey James (Grand Rapids, Mich./Rider) posted 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Northern Illinois University men's basketball team survived a late Buffalo rally to top the Bulls, 73-72, on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 4) at Alumni Arena.
With his 26 points, German moved past Allen Rayhorn (1978-82; 1,848 points) and Donnell Thomas (1987-91; 1,853 points) into second on NIU's all-time scoring list with 1,859 career points. NIU's victory snapped an 11-game losing streak in Buffalo as the Huskies recorded their first win at Alumni Arena since February 6, 2003.
The Huskies shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the field, including 45 percent (9-of-20) from three-point range while holding the Bulls to 34.8 percent (24-of-69) shooting, including 27.3 percent (9-of-33) from three.
"What a finish, wow," said NIU head coach
Mark Montgomery. "We outplayed them; all of the numbers say that we outplayed them. We held them under 40 percent, under 30 percent from three. We have some things that we need to clean up, but it was a huge win and gives us some momentum heading to Central Michigan."
NIU (8-6, 1-0 MAC) led by 10 after a pair of free throws from James with just under four minutes to go before Buffalo put on a full-court press and used a 13-2 lead to take a 72-71 lead with 33 seconds left.
On the next possession, sophomore
Trendon Hankerson (Novi, Mich./Novi) drove to the basket and was fouled with 20 seconds to play. Hankerson calmly went to the free throw line and knocked down both free throws, his only points of the game, to give the Huskies a 73-72 lead.
The Huskies went to a zone on the next possession and got a stop, with senior
Noah McCarty (Rock Falls, Ill./Sterling Newman) grabbing the rebound, his ninth of the contest, to secure NIU's third consecutive victory over Buffalo.
With Buffalo in front by three in the early going, NIU used an 8-0 run, all from German on a pair of trifectas and a coast-to-coast layup off a steal, to take a 15-10 lead with 15:15 to play in the opening half.
A 10-4 burst from Buffalo gave the Bulls a one-point lead, 24-23, with just over nine minutes to play in the opening half until a triple from German, his fourth of the contest, push NIU right back in front by a pair.
Even at 28, NIU used a 9-0 run to take a 37-28 lead with 3:43 left before the intermission. German opened the burst with a triple, junior
Gairges Daow (Melbourne, Australia/Victory Rock Academy) scored the next six. The Huskie advantage grew to as much as 11 on a layup from junior
Zaire Mateen (Queens, N.Y./Laramie County Community College) in the final minute of the half before Buffalo scored the final basket of the opening 20 minutes as NIU took a 41-32 lead into the intermission.
German scored 18 in the opening half on 6-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range as the Huskies as a team shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33) from the field and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) from beyond the arc. Buffalo shot just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from three in the first half.
A layup from James, off a feed from German, gave the Huskies a 49-38 lead early in the second half. After Buffalo answered with a triple, NIU scored the next six, on a triple from McCarty, a layup by German and a free throw from sophomore
Justin Lee (Lawrenceville, Ga./Lawrenceville), as the Huskie lead grew to 55-41 with 12:45 to play.
Buffalo (9-5, 0-1 MAC) trimmed the NIU advantage to nine until a trifecta from the top of the key extended the Huskie lead back to a dozen with 9:22 remaining.
Two free throws by James, who scored 16 of his 18 in the second half, with 3:50 to play gave the Huskies a 10-point lead, setting up the game's final minutes.
Jeenathan Williams scored a team-high 17 points to lead Buffalo, Jayvon Graves added 16 points and Josh Mballa posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
NIU will be on the road again on Tuesday night, January 7, as the Huskies visit Central Michigan. Tipoff against the Chippewas is slated for 6 p.m. CT. The Huskies return to DeKalb for the conference home opener next Saturday, January 11, against Eastern Michigan.
